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States that there has been much debate about the EC’s Social Charter but very little research on the implications for personnel managers. Personnel managers will be responsible for implementing the majority of Social Charter initiatives within their organizations. Based on the results from a postal survey of over 5,000 personnel managers across ten European countries, highlights the impact of the Social Charter on their organizations. Results show that: personnel managers are not as solely positive towards the Social Charter as expected; there appears to be a great deal of uncertainty among managers from a number of European countries – there is no pan‐European perspective at present – and; the perception that the UK is “dragging its feet” seems to be a misconception.

Examines the situation in the UK in some detail with regard to three aspects of the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union. Looks at the aims, together with an analysis and appraisal. Considers, first, information and consultation rights with regards to the transfer of undertakings and redundancies, followd by the right to collective action and, lastly, protection in the event of unjustifiable dismissal. Presents case law throughout as examples. Concludes that the UK has attempted to prevent social and economic rights for workers from being included in the final charter despite fierce opposition. Compares this view together with the UK suspicion of Europe against the views of the other member states.

The European Charter of Fundamental Social Rights is discussed and the view expressed that it represents a missed opportunity. Employers in Europe oppose the draft of the Charter in its present form and do not believe that demolishing barriers within Europe will automatically prove beneficial to employers and employees alike. While opposing the rudiments of the Charter, employers do favour the recognition of fundamental social rights. The shortcomings of the Charter are highlighted and an alternative vision for an open, free and competitive Europe is presented.

This paper aims to review the case for improved (supra‐national) regional social and labour policies in principle, assess the extent to which existing regional associations of governments and regional organizations are actually developing effective regional labour policies in different sub‐regions of Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, and finally explore the driving forces behind their development and suggest how they might be further enhanced.

The paper compares the emergence of regional policies concerning labour rights and migrant workers' rights across regions. A sample of more than 15 regional arrangements are then ranked on the basis of their commitment in these areas. Finally, correlations between these rankings and different indicators of (real) regional interdependence are looked at.

The paper shows that regional socio‐economic policies are gaining importance in different world regions, although speeds are varied and generally low. It is difficult, however, to find strong correlations with indicators of regional interdependence such as trade or migration.

The paper presents one of the first systematic accounts of the development of regional socio‐economic policies in different world regions. It shows at the same time that huge opportunities for new policy initiatives exist in this area.

The potential implications of the European Social Charter for future human resource strategy within the UK hospitality industry is explored. Four key areas which were subject to change during the 1980s and which are likely to be affected by the proposed Community agreements are identified. This provides a backdrop against which possible results are discussed and some broad conceptual changes in strategy are postulated.

By the end of 1992 many of the barriers which still hinder trade between the European states will have gone. This article surveys recent developments in the European Community and economic adjustments in response to integration; summarising the other articles in this issue, which consider aspects such as the social charter, labour mobility and unemployment/employment predictions.

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the recent social welfare performance of old and new members of the European Union, and to establish whether a specific East‐European social model (ESM) is emerging.

The concept of social model is explored in the context of the historical development of economic and social policy integration in the European Union, with emphasis on reform measures and the EU enlargement process post‐1990. Guided by Sapir's typology of ESMs, the performance of 15 West‐European countries is analysed and compared with that of ten East‐European countries, relative to key economic and social indicators. The results are then used to determine whether a typology of East‐ESMs could be produced.

Social welfare performance in the new EU members indicates two different patterns and levels of development, which at this stage separate East‐European countries into two distinct groups. While two divergent trends may be emerging, it is perhaps too soon to conclude that any specific East‐ESM is taking shape. Results so far suggest that, in Eastern Europe, the influence of a welfarist social model appears more beneficial than that of market liberalism.

This paper is limited to the comparative analysis of social welfare performance in six country groups. To obtain a full picture of the current development of social models in the European Union, it should be complemented by a separate examination of deliberate efforts by national governments towards in integrating economic and social policies in normative social models. The analysis itself could be expanded to include other significant social indicators, such as the level of employment protection or the Human Development Index.

While deliberate policy efforts are not always necessary for a social model to emerge, public awareness of cultural and regional trends in social welfare performance, analysed through the filter of social model typology, can significantly inform future social and cultural practices, as well as national government policies, directed towards improving national welfare.

This analysis can provide a theoretical basis for the integration of national economic and social policies in a coherent philosophy of multi‐dimensional development in Eastern Europe.

The paper selects historically relevant indicators of economic and social performance, undertakes a comparative analysis of six European country groups, draws conclusions on the current state of social welfare in East‐European countries relative to their Western counterparts and makes recommendations regarding the development of social model conceptions in Eastern Europe.

“Social”, in terms of EC policy, covers areas from “youth” to health and safety. This, and the many non‐EC organisations involved in this field, means that any comprehensive overview of published material on the social dimension to Europe would fill a whole issue of Aslib Proceedings!

This article considers the impact of minimum wage legislation on wages, employment and gross domestic product. Using the Liverpool quarterly model of the UK to calculate the total effects in the economy, the authors suggest that unemployment would increase along with the real wages of low paid workers.